Rohingya cannot be pressured or forced into repatriation to Burma
LONDON: Burma Human Rights Network is calling on the Government of Bangladesh to postpone plans to repatriate Rohingya refugees back to Burma until conditions are acceptable to do so. Bangladesh and Burma have agreed to begin repatriating at least 2, 000 Rohingya back to Burma starting November 15th, despite a lack of assurance for the rights and safety of those being returned. Interviews conducted by Burma Human Rights Network with refugees who have been told they are among those who will be returned have shown a pattern of disregard for the safety and concern of the refugees listed for repatriation. All of the refugees BHRN spoke to said they were not asked if they wanted to return and said they felt they would be in danger if they refused.
“The Government of Bangladesh must cease efforts to prematurely return Rohingya refugees to Burma and instead should be working with the international community and the Rohingya themselves to establish ways in which the Rohingya can be returned to Burma with their safety and human rights guaranteed. Currently, those responsible for the repatriation appear to be using pressure to force the Rohingya to return to a place they rightfully fear to be persecuted and even killed,” said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
Lack of Documentation Still ‘Core Problem’ Facing Burmese Muslim Migrants in Thailand
London, UK – The Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) is deeply concerned by on-going arrests and deportations of undocumented migrant workers in Thailand, to which Burmese Muslims are particularly vulnerable.
Recent reports indicate that Thailand has “repatriated” an estimated 35,000 Burmese migrants nationwide since July. Burmese Muslims are among those who have faced increased difficulty in meeting the current registration requirements in Thailand, an issue outlined in BHRN’s June 2018 report Existence Denied. Nearly 80 per cent of Burmese Muslims BHRN spoke had never been issued citizenship documents in Burma, making it nearly impossible to obtain legal documentation in Thailand, where many have lived and worked for decades.
Repatriation Plans for Rohingya are Premature and Inhumane
London, UK - Burma Human Rights Network vehemently opposes plans by the Bangladeshi and Burmese governments to begin repatriation of the nearly 800,000 Rohingya refugees in mid-November of 2018, which would put that at risk of serious harm and deprivation of human rights. The plan was announced on October 30th in Bangladesh after the third Joint Working Group (a collection of 30 representatives from Bangladesh and Burma) meeting on the repatriation of the Rohingya. The move comes only a week after the Chair of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar said that the Genocide against the Rohingya was ‘ongoing’.
“To return the Rohingya to Burma at a time where there are no mechanisms to ensure their safety, dignity, or human rights is unconscionable. These are survivors of a genocide and they are being asked to return to a place where they face the risk of future attacks, life-threatening restrictions on travel, institutional discrimination and disenfranchisement, and indefinite detention in displacement camps, all under the supervision of the same people who murdered and raped their loved ones.” said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
